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Iroquois Government

Glossary of Terms

The name Iroquois means "rattlesnakes ." They call themselves Haudenosaunee which means "people building a long house ." They live in what is now the state of New York and parts of Canada. The Iroquois Confederacy originally included five nations and was a democracy . The US government is modeled on it .

downloaded from First Americans:Dine, Muscogee, Tlingit, Lakota, Iroquois on July 12, 2002

The Iroquois Indians lived in the Northeastern part of the Woodland Culture. Today we call this part of our country New York. The Iroquois Indians were actually a "nation " of Indians made up of 5 tribes . These tribes were the Senecas, Cayuga, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks. These tribes were hostile , or war-like, to each other until they joined together to become the " League of the Five Nations". Even after the forming of this nation there was still some fighting among the 5 tribes.

downloaded from The First Americans: Grade 3 Project on July 12, 2002

About 1390, today's State of New York became the stronghold of five powerful Indian tribes. They were later joined by another great tribe, the Tuscaroras from the south. Eventually the Iroquois, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas joined together to form the great Iroquois Nation. In 1715, the Tuscaroras were accepted into the Iroquois Nation.

downloaded from Iroquois Oral Tradition on July 12, 2002

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

confederacy-

a group of people who are together for the same purpose or reason

democracy-

a government in which the people rule directly or through elected officials

hostile-

unfriendly, always wanting to fight

league-

a group that is made when the people in it decide to support the same things and do the same things

longhouse-

This is a drawing of a longhouse . The Iroquois People made longhouses to live in. See the section on DWELLINGS for more information

modeled on it-

made like it, using the same ideas

nation-

a group of people who live in the same area and have the same government, history, culture, and language

originally-

in the beginning

rattlesnake-

This is a picture of a Timber Rattlesnake. A rattlesnake is a poisonous snake with a series of horny rings at the end of the tail. When the snake shakes his tail it rattles.

stronghold-

a place of security or survival

tribe-

a group of people who have the same ancestors or people who lived before them

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